


The Odd Occurrences of R & R Lutece

by MayaShea



Category: BioShock Infinite
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Historical References, Time Travel, historical events, pre-game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-05
Updated: 2013-10-08
Packaged: 2017-12-25 16:39:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/955376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayaShea/pseuds/MayaShea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before the pair chased multiple universes in hopes of saving a gambling man and his daughter, Robert and Rosalind Lutece discovered that death had brought them a seemingly unlimited amount of opportunities and adventures.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is my second time writing for Bioshock Infinite, and the Luteces. The idea for this fic was actually suggested to me by my parents, who are big fans of Doctor Who. After explaining to them the backstory of the characters and their role in the main plot, they thought it might be cool to write about the "in between" of the two; after they died, but before the plot of the game begins. I've thought of a few historic events that could be fun to plop the Luteces into, so that's mainly what I'm going to be attempting to do with this fic. Anyways, I'll stop explaining and let you read. Let me know how you like it, I'm still getting used to writing these characters!

It had been no more than a week after the Lutece twins' mysterious death, and yet, here they stood, together, inside of the home they shared. It was empty of anyone besides themselves, of course, as it had been abandoned when their passing was confirmed. Despite this, the furniture remained where it was, along with photographs, and a few voxophones Rosalind had left out to be sorted. A few items  _had_ been removed, though, mostly expensive jewlery and other trinkets that would sell well, by various desperate citizens of Columbia looking to gather what money they could. This disturbed Rosalind, visibly, as her nose cringed when she made her way up to their sleeping chambers and realized not everything was where they had left it. Robert, on the other hand, took the news quite well. After all, they  _were_ dead. Not much could be done about it.

"Let it go, dear Rosalind. I assure you there are more important things to be worrying about in the moment."

"Yes, I understand that, brother, but am I not allowed to be upset upon learning there have been thieves in our living space?"

Robert's eyebrows furrowed, frustrated by his "sister's" stubborn attitude. "Honestly, what did you expect? We were pronounced deceased. I highly doubt those who stole our things expected us to return in search of them."

Rosalind sighed while placing two fingers on the bridge of her nose and shutting her eyes, taking a moment to catch up with her thoughts. She sat on the edge of the queen sized bed the two used to share, and Robert stood, watching as she gathered herself. "I suppose you're right. I should forget about it."

"Indeed."

The man made his way to the other side of the room, sitting beside the other on the bed and placing a hand over her shoulder. "If it's any consolation, I'm sure those who took our things are better off in terms of wealth now. Perhaps they were struggling before."

"That does not excuse stealing from someone they believed to be dead." Rosalind replied, letting out another sigh. She hated to use the word "dead" to describe them. Is that what they were now, just a couple of walking corpses? "It's incredibly disrespectful."

"Mmm." Robert agreed. "Regardless, there's little we can do about it."

"I already said I'd let it go."

"Alright. We both will, then. Does that sound fair?"

She nodded, standing up from her position and flattening out her skirt. "I suggest we leave before I get myself worked up again. It was not one of my brightest ideas that we return here, I must admit."

"That sounds to be a much more productive plan." Her male counterpart said, standing up as he joined her in her walk down the stairs to the main entrance of the building.

Little had been accomplished by the duo since they had met their demise at the hands of Jeremiah Fink. They had spent most of the time between then and now exchanging ideas as to what exactly happened to them. They were obviously not  _fully_ dead, in the traditional sense of the word. Part of them was still able to walk and talk and experience living. Rosalind hypothesized that, perhaps, the two had been "scattered" around space, due to their accident involving the machine they used to create tears into alternate universes. This meant that, theoretically, they could go wherever they pleased whenever they wished to. She had yet to test out that theory of hers, as she had been too focused on attempting to reclaim the life she and her "twin" had made for themselves in the city. As the days passed, though, she realized that the idea of returning to what they had was nothing but a fantasy. It had already been challenging enough to pass Robert as her twin, there was absolutely no way that anyone would fully understand their new problem.

"Brother," The woman spoke, quietly, as she was still caught up in her own thoughts. "have you at all considered the possibility that we are trapped between multiple planes of existence? Scattered around space and time?"

Robert said nothing for a few seconds, leading Rosalind to believe that he hadn't heard her question. "Brother?"

"I have not." He responded, finally, as they stood in front of their home, attempting to be unseen by people passing by. "Now that you say so, though, I admit the idea does make sense." They were both silent, pondering, before he spoke again. "What do you suppose we do about it?"

"I suppose," She stopped herself, taking another moment to think. "I suppose we conduct a test."

"Are you suggesting we attempt time travel?"

"I believe I am."

"Hmm." Robert brought his head down, now taking  _his_ turn to think things over. "How exactly would we go about doing this?"

"I haven't gotten that far, yet." Rosalind replied.

"Well," Robert opened his mouth once more. "do you remember how we were able to remove ourselves from our graves?"

"I simply wished to escape, there wasn't much of an effort to it."

"Exactly."

"Exactly, what?"

"What if, perhaps, we  _wish_ to travel to another time, or another place?"

"Just...wish?"

"If we were determined enough to teleport ourselves out of sturdy coffins, I believe there is a possibility that we could teleport to other places, as well."

Rosalind pondered this, her expression puzzled. "Alright, then. If you think this to be the way. Where would you like to go?"

"Let's start rather small, shall we? A few years ahead? How about, say, 1912?"

"That sounds reasonable to me."

They closed their eyes, beginning to invision themselves travelling to the future. Rosalind couldn't help herself from gripping on to Robert's hand rather tightly, in case one should get seperated from the other in the process, assuming her brother's idea would work. A slight smile crept its way on to his face, though she couldn't see, obviously. 

He was the first to open his eyes, and he blinked a few times, not yet sure if they had succeeded. He took a quick look around, noticing they were standing in the same spot they were before. Though, he could swear the sky was brighter, and that there were less clouds above them than there were previously. His glance turned to their home in front of them, and that's when it became apparent that it had worked. It had aged, if only a little. Someone had clearly thrown a rock or two through their front window, and the outside paint was beginning to become dull. He tugged on the other's hand quickly, and she opened an eye slowly, muttering something under her breath. Then she saw it; the subtle difference that he had seen, and she looked around, as well, her jaw dropping as she witnessed the future.

"We did it, Rosalind." Robert leaned in close to the woman's ear, whispering softly, before giving her hand another tug. "We're here."

"1912." She said, mostly to herself, still in awe. "...Do you suppose we should check out our surroundings a bit?"

There was no answer, and she turned her head to find that he had already left her side and was reading a local newspaper that had been left in the street. She shook her head softly. Robert sometimes acted like a child would, finding interest in the smallest of things. 

She stepped back inside the house, taking a look at everything inside, and was surprised to find that it had remained relatively the same since her last visit. More valuables were missing, as to be expected, but most of their furniture still remained, as did their photographs. She couldn't help but smile a bit, tracing her fingers over a few of the framed photos, longing to see some of the faces in them one last time. Her eyes then travelled up and saw the small holes in the window, and her smile faded. How rude, she thought, to be destroying someone else's property like that. She walked closer, investigating, before shifting her focus to the outside of the glass and noticing that Robert was no longer standing where he had been a few minutes ago.

"...Robert?" She called out, attempting not to be too loud, for she knew not who could be near. After receiving no answer, again, she made her way outside in search of him. "Robert!" She said, louder, this time, looking in every direction for him, but he was nowhere to be found. 

She closed her eyes, rubbing her temples as she felt panic creeping its way into her chest, affecting her breathing slightly.  _It's alright, Rosalind. It's an easy fix. Just wish yourself to be back with him, that's all, and it will happen. You will be back by his side. He is okay. Everything will be okay._

She did just that, imagining herself to be with the man as hard as she could. Then she was there, with him once more when her eyes opened, and she couldn't stop the tears forming in her eyes, and she felt stupid, but she also felt safe. "I can't believe you would do such a thing to me. I was terrified!" 

"Quiet, quiet, can you hear that?"

"Hear  _what?_ Brother, you had me so concerned. I thought I had lost you, I thought we were-"

"It's  _music_ , Rosalind." He responded to himself, ignoring her, with a dazed expression on his face. Rosalind remained frustrated, but froze, suddenly hearing what he was talking about. It was around this time that she decided to turn her head to see where they were, and she almost fell over when she did so.

He had taken them on board a ship, on its way to its destination in the middle of the ocean. They stood on the bow, which was illuminated by not only the moon, but the thousands of lights coming from inside of the ship itself. It was beautiful, and amazing, and unlike anything she had ever layed her eyes on before. "Robert, where-"

"I read about this in the newspaper." Robert replied before she finished speaking. "The RMS Titanic." He turned to face her, now, his face beaming with excitement. "It's the largest ship afloat. Incredible, really. There are nearly one-thousand four-hundred people aboard it at this very moment." 

Rosalind said nothing, though the other's smile was contagious, and she turned to glance at the sea while her lips curled upwards. "It's beautiful." She said, placing both her hands on the bow's railing and closing her eyes once more, allowing the wind to race through her hair and slap her face. 

"Isn't it?" Robert spoke, joining her in leaning against the rail. They both stood there for a few moments, taking it all in. The two had been on one ship prior to this one, when they had travelled from the UK to America many years ago. Of course, they had not yet met, so this time felt more special, since they were fortunate enough to share the experience. "Unfortunate, though." He said, breaking the silence, and Rosalind's eyes suddenly jolted open as she faced him.

"What do you  _mean_ , unfortunate?"

He turned, as well, quickly bringing his glance back out to the sea. "Oh, nothing."

"Robert, what did you  _do?"_

"I was just curious. I wasn't planning on tampering with anything important."

" _Robert, what did you do?"_ She had fully removed herself from the railing now, and was facing him, a stern look on her face. 

He caught her staring out of the corner of his eye and turned his head once again, looking much like a sad puppy. "I felt as if we might be able to do something to help-"

"No.  _No!_ This was only supposed to be a test of our abilities, brother, nothing more!"

"Were you not saying that you thought this ship was beautiful no more than a moment before?"

"I was unaware you had ulterior motives for coming here! This is unacceptable. We must go back, now."

"Almost all of the passengers on this ship are going to die tonight, Rosalind." He snapped, leaving her shocked. "Are you meaning to tell me you would rather them drown as opposed to offering them help?"

She was silent, stunned, a frown forming on her face. "There's nothing we can  _do_ , brother! It has happened already! You are causing more trouble by even being here!" Her voice grew louder, as her temper grew fiercer. 

"We can warn them, we could-"

"I will not speak further on the subject! We must go,  _now!_ I refuse to leave without you!"

"You are being incredibly selfish! Are you even taking into account all of the lives you could be saving?"

" _They are aleady dead, Robert!"_ She screamed, quickly covering her mouth with her hands. 

"Rosalind,"

"Yes?" 

"I believe we've caught the attention of someone."

The woman's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull, and she looked in the direction he was looking. Sure enough, a young looking man stood from his watch tower, seemingly staring at the two.

She began to panic, and was about to ask what they should do, when she saw him teleport himself out of view of the man, and promptly joined him. "Now you've done it, brother." She hissed quietly. "lf we do not return this very moment, there will be-"

_Ding, ding, ding, ding!_

Their heads shot up to look at the man in the tower, who was ringing the bridge. " _Iceburg, right ahead!"_ He yelped, and the pair felt the boat slowly attempt to turn from the target. They held on to each other, too startled to move, and Robert shut his eyes closed tight, already aware of what was about to happen. 

"I'd hold on to something close, if I were you." He whispered, and she nodded, grabbing a pole that was nearby.

"What's happening?" Rosalind whispered back, visibly anxious.

" _It_ is happening."

" _It?"_

Suddenly she was silenced, as she felt the entire boat shift beneath her. She held on tight, hoping not to be flung right off the edge of the ship. There was a loud screeching noise, as if they had collided into something, and water splashed on to the deck, soaking she and Robert. 

This continued for another minute or so, before she let go of her death grip on the pole and placed a hand on her forehead. "Ohh, Robert. Robert, what have we done?"

"I suggest we leave before things get messy."

"What have we  _done?"_ Rosalind repeated, becoming rather pale, and looking as if she was going to pass out.

"Grab hold of my hand. We're leaving now."

"We've killed all these people." She said, softly, to herself, as she did was she was told and took the other's hand in hers. 

Soon enough, they were back in front of their home in 1909. The weather was cloudy, a bit darker than it had been earlier, and Rosalind collapsed on the stairway behind her, Robert attempting to catch her but not being quick enough.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, brother." She replied quickly, harshly, swatting his hands away from her. "I'm absolutely, positively fine."

"I'm incredibly sorry. I shouldn't have been so stubborn."

"Promise me this will  _not_ happen again." Rosalind said, nearly gasping for breath, as she was still in shock. "Just-just promise me."

"I promise. It will not happen again. I am so sorr-"

"Good. No, no, good." She placed a hand on her forehead again, and extended another for her twin to grab and help her onto her feet. "It is over. What's done is done. We shall figure out what to do from here when the moment arises."

The other nodded in response, feeling slightly dizzy. As Rosalind stared off into the distance, gathering herself, Robert brought a finger under his nose, gulping. When he brought it back down to his eyes, it was dyed bright red. His dizziness became worse, and he went to place a hand on the woman's shoulder to notify her, but the world became black, and he fell unconscious. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robert regains consciousness, and promptly discusses with Rosalind what they plan to do about their situation.

For Robert Lutece, 1893 was a number that marked the year his entire life was flipped upside down. He was unsure if his life had changed for the better, at first, but as time grew, as well as the bond between him and his "sister", he decided it was more than good. It was fantastic, and astonishing, and exactly the kind of change he had needed, he just hadn't known.

The first time the two interacted, it was a miserably hot summer day in July. Robert had opted to stay inside, attempting various methods of cooling himself down, which eventually ended with him fanning himself with a large stack of papers and slumping down in a chair at his work desk. His day had been disappointing, to say the least, and in addition to feeling as though he might melt at any moment, he was frustrated, and his mood worsened with every passing second.

Earlier, he had gotten into a fight with his mother about his scientific studies. The woman had been pestering her son about the "ridiculous" amount of funds that was needed for his experimentation. Robert insisted he was aware of the problems he might face, but felt he needed to finish his project, regardless of how difficult it could be to acquire the money. It was at that point in the conversation when his mother said, abruptly, that "he wasn't going to get anywhere, anyways, and if he wanted to make something useful of himself, he'd be much better off investing his time and money in something he's actually good at".

He then stormed all the way back to his home, ignoring everyone he saw on the way there, and ended up where he was; hot, angry, and half-asleep at his desk.

Exhaustion, whether it was from the heat or something else, began to take over him, and he placed the stack of papers in his hand upon the surface in front of him. His eyelids grew heavy, and he accepted defeat, shutting them completely and slowly drifting off in his chair. It would probably do him some good to sleep, anyways, he figured. When he woke up, perhaps he'd be in a better mood. Maybe mother was going to change her mind, and support him in his work instead of making him believe he was incapable of completing it.

Though, just as he was about to fall asleep, he could of sworn he heard something to the side of him. A faint...sort of...humming. It sounded a bit like wind, but not any wind he was used to hearing. Besides, he was inside. There was no wind inside of his house.

His eyes opened, and he straightened his posture as he rubbed them, taking a quick glance to his left to make sure nothing was wrong. What he saw left him...speechless. Confused. Intrigued.

There seemed to be some sort of small rip inside of his wall, but it was bright, and the inside of it was gray and crackly, like a photograph. He got up from his seat to investigate, crouching down and attempting to look inside of it. It proved to be too small, as all he could see was gray. Unsure of what to do, or what was even going on, he remained in his position, studying the strange rip in case anything should happen to it.

That's when he heard it. The tapping.

At first, he thought it was just another additional noise that the strange rip was giving off. Then it repeated, the same sequence of tapping, and it hit him that it was morse code. Someone, or something, had to be inside of that small little thing for it to be communicating with him. How was that possible? There was no way it could be possible.

The gears in his head struggled to turn furiously, piecing together what the morse code was saying. Gr...eet...ing...s. Greetings. It was greeting him.

He raised a somewhat shakey hand, placing it to the rip, and tapping "Hello".

There was no reply for a moment, and in that time, Robert began to think he was making all of this up in his head. Maybe he had already fallen asleep, and this was some sort of strange dream he was having. Or worse, maybe he actually was awake, and he was simply beginning to become insane. Maybe his work was taking too much of a mental toll on him. His mother was right, after all. He should just forget about all of these studies and experiments, he thought. Start new. Work on his art. Yeah, he could get back into sketching and painting. He could do it for a living, and he wouldn't become insane, and he'd spend less money and make more instead, and everything would be fine-

Tap tap tap tap tap

His thoughts halted, and instead, he listened as the tapping went on, decoding the message. "My name is Rosalind Lutece. I am communicating with you through an invention of mine called the Lutece Field".

That was the moment his life took a turn down a more exciting road. At first, he thought he had come in contact with some long lost family member. Though, after the two exchanged more information about themselves and their lives, he realized what he had truly stumbled upon. Himself. In an alternate universe, one where he was born female, yet achieved the same things he had achieved in this life. 

She contacted him often. Every couple of days turned into every other day, which turned into everyday. Their conversations were casual, mostly. Rosalind would tell him how her day went, and the things she had worked on, and he would do the same. Until one day, she mentioned that she might be able to open the “tear” they used to communicate through. That's what she called it, a tear. 

It required time, and many tests conducted by Rosalind, but eventually, it happened. Robert's heart was pounding so deep in his chest that he feared it might burst. She had just finished telling him about her theory, and that she felt it would really work, and asked him if he was ready. He was more than ready. They had not even met face to face, and yet, he felt as if this woman was his best friend. 

Finally, the tear sparkled brighter than it ever had before. The crackly dark gray texture was replaced by bright, vivid, real colors. It grew into a giant circle on the wall, glowing white, and inside of it, she was there. Rosalind. It was almost as if he was looking into a mirror, besides the one obvious difference. They shared the same hair color, facial structure, eye color, and complexion. They also shared the same facial expression, one of shock and amazement, and their eyes were wide, like a deer caught in headlights of a car. It was unbelievable. 

Then she extended a hand, through the tear, into his universe. He suddenly felt sick, and anxious, and unsure, but he knew he couldn't back down. Not now. Not after all she had been through to get him there.

He grabbed it, and slowly walked into an entirely different reality. A world that looked and acted as his own, but was not the same. The two stayed still for only a second more, before pulling each other into one big embrace that had been put off for much too long. Then and there, they had changed history, and science, and the idea of what was and was not possible. Rosalind pulled apart from her male counterpart to power off her tear machine, but quickly returned to her place in front of him, unable to keep herself from smiling.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Robert Lutece." She spoke quietly, and it seemed that her smile was contageous, because he soon felt himself forming one, as well.

"The pleasure is mine." Robert responded, as quiet as she, and that's when he noticed her eyes.  _Really_ noticed them, as stand alone features on her face, instead of comparing them to his. They were the same shade of blue as his were, yet, they seemed to shine brighter. The color seemed deeper, and more intense, and looked perfect on her face. And her lips, which shared the same shape as his lips, were softer, and redder. Her hair, a more vibrant shade of orange; like a burning fire. Yet, none of her features were  _actually_ different than his. He simply looked at them in a different perspective. She was like an angel, and at the same time, she was not, because she was him. 

And even now, as she stood above him, with stress and frustration and anxiety painting her face, she was perfect. He felt lucky that the first person he should see upon coming to his senses was her, in all her perfection, wiping blood from his nose and cursing under her breath. He brought a hand to his head as she started to notice he was awakening, and she took a step back, looking relieved. 

"Robert, can you hear me? Robert?"

"Mmm." Robert mumbled in response, slowly leaning up in the chair Rosalind had seemingly placed him in while he was unconscious. She moved his hand from his head and placed hers there, instead.

"You hit your head fairly hard when you fainted. I was worried you would not wake."

"Rosalind, are you forgetting that we are dead?"

She was silent, ignoring the question as if she hadn't heard it. "I'm going to bring this cloth into the kitchen. You were bleeding from your nose, again, as well. I had to clean it up."

Before he could reply, she was already on her way out of the room, and Robert sighed, sitting up further in his chair. A quick glance around the room confirmed that they were back in their home, which comforted him slightly. Rosalind returned a moment later, sitting down next to him. "I'm fully aware of our condition, you need not remind me so often."

"I simply thought it strange to worry about such a thing when I have already died."

"That didn't stop you from bleeding, or fainting." Rosalind snapped, placing her index finger and thumb at the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes. They sat, awkwardly, neither saying a word for some time. She had a point, he supposed, worrying about him like that. They weren't entirely dead, after all. Guilt suddenly crept its way up to him, and he cleared his throat, turning his attention back to her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

"Don't apologize, brother, you've done nothing wrong." The woman's voice was softer now than it was before, and she took a deep breath before opening her eyes.  "I just...I'm unsure of what we should do from this point. We've found ourselves in quite a unique situation, and I would be lying if I said I am not at least a bit scared. We cannot reside here forever. Someone will catch on to us, eventually."

"You say that as if we're committing a crime."

"Are we not? Is one allowed to return to one's home and resume life as they previously lived it once they have died?" Rosalind's voice was almost shaking, now, and she was visibly upset. "I have no idea how we'll go on like this, Robert."

Silence filled the room once again, and Robert took this opportunity to think about their options, which were indeed limited. "We don't have to."

"What do you mean?"

"We don't have to go on like this." He suggested, cautiously. "We have the ability to create new realities for ourselves, if we wished."

"What are you saying? I don't understand."

"I'm saying that we are not obliged under oath to continue living here, in Columbia, in 1909. We could travel somewhere new in the blink of an eye, nobody would-"

"Did we not just witness exactly why that wouldn't work?" Rosalind responded, her speech growing louder. "Our experiment resulted in the death of thousands and you fell unconscious for two hours! I counted, Robert!"  


"-And that was entirely my fault, Rosalind, and I realise why you may be weary of trusting me-"

"I am not weary of trusting you. I have always trusted you." Rosalind's spoke quieter, not realizing before that she had been yelling. 

"Then trust me, Rosalind." Robert said, finally standing from his seat and walking over to her, taking her hands in his. "Explore with me. There is so much of the world that we've yet to see, and we were given the chance to see it. Together."

Rosalind's head lowered, and she took some time to think before providing a reply. "I'm scared, brother." She whispered, her eyes meeting his. There they were again, he thought. Those beautiful deep pools of blue.

"Don't be. We have nothing to fear if we are by each other's side."

She stood up, her hands still locked with Robert's. "Where will we go?"

"Anywhere in the world." Robert answered, smiling. "Anywhere you wish."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI GUYS omg I'm sorry this took so long to write, I'm really slow at updating fanfictions because I need a lot of time to come up with good ideas and how I wanna plan everything out and stuff. Hopefully I'll have another chapter up sooner than this one!! I also wanted to mention that I recently made a side-blog on tumblr for my fanfiction, incase there's anything in the future that I don't want to post on here, so if any of you have a tumblr, you can follow it if you want! The url is mayadaydreaming.tumblr.com. Hope you're all enjoying the story so far! I promise it'll get more interesting soon, haha.


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